What Can I Do?

For many months, the world has been in the thralls of a pandemic which has been more confusing than imaginable. We are stuck in a time warp that seems to keep repeating itself. We want to get off this merry-go-round, but we are dizzy and everything seems out of focus. The best thing to come out of this has been the opportunity to spend more time at home, learning new crafts or experimenting with cooking, building stronger relationships with our families, and perhaps neighbors, as well as reorganizing homes, cultivating gardens and enjoying some peace and quiet. That was until rioting broke out. Nothing is certain in our daily lives any more. Many have lost jobs, or at the least, hours of work. Many are struggling with smaller paychecks and bigger bills. And many have lost loved ones who were unable to overcome the dreaded virus. Life is no longer simple; it is certainly a daily challenge.

We are facing challenges that we were not really prepared for. Nations that had gone through fast-moving disease were more prepared than those in the western world. But we have learned a lot along the way. We now wear masks, stand farther away from strangers and are careful how we wash our hands, don’t touch our faces (as much) and take extra time to clean surfaces that humans have been around. Are we creating a new generation of paranoid people? What kind of camaraderie will the young children have with one another as time goes by? There are many people who display symptoms of depression in its many forms. People lash out about wearing or not wearing masks. Emotions are on edge.

How can I, a mere woman, make enough impact on the world to calm the confusion, comfort the hopeless and guide the beaten-down, burdened and lost people? Alone, I can do nothing.

But I do know the most powerful Being in the universe! I know He looks down and waits for any and all of us to ask Him for help through this darkness. I know that His desire is to bless and protect and comfort us. We are His children inhabiting this earth. We are not alone, ever! So I am confident that when I seek the help of God, He will answer. We are His highest priority in the universe, especially when we call out to Him. “Help me, God! I am discouraged. I feel empty and confused. I know you care and will help me in time of need! That time is now!!!”

Psalm 72 and verses 12-14 says, “For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.”

In the face of this pandemic, we are every one of us needy, weak and oppressed. And only God knows how to spare us or heal us from this disease. He says that our blood is precious in his sight. He knows the hairs on our heads. His desire is that all who are oppressed call out to Him and He will rescue them. So, when I, a mere woman, see someone in need: poor, discouraged, sick or depressed, I send up a special prayer for that person, right then and there. I may not be able to reach out a physical hand right now, but I can go to the Creator of that person and ask for a blessing to be granted to him or her. God hears, especially when what we ask is for someone besides ourselves.